> In a message dated 98-05-30 18:52:14 EDT, you write:
>
> << Cori, obviously you don't teach undergraduates in California. 20% of my
> college juniors and seniors in a junior level class are academically
> functioning
> at or below middle school level.
> That is todays norm!
> Ralph, how much of this is the result of poor schools, how much the fault of
> unmotivated students?.. what other causes do you see for these results?.. any
> ideas on how a transhumanist type can help change this?..or is it too late?..
> i have a young daughter and frankly, if she gets the same sort of public
> education i did, she's going to rather hopelessly lost. on the other hand the
> cost of a private school or tutor is not something i'm at all certain i can
> afford. ( tho, i realise that maybe she can't afford for me not to afford
> it.:-) )
Given ordinary intellect and supportive intellectual parents, IMHO a child can
get a better education by spending 2 hours twice a week at a public library than
by going to a public school for 30 hours a week.
Depending on the age of this young daughter, be sure to:
* read to her
* help her read
* read for yourself, where she can see you doing it
* include both light reading and serious study in your reading
* comparable stuff for arithmetic and, later, math
* buy her books and intellectual toys that are appropriate to her
age level -- *and* some that are a bit beyond her.
* talk about current events, history, science,... in her presence
* study enough to know what you're talking about
* make it apparent that you enjoy all this stuff
* live near a library plus have a lot of books of your own
* get her her own library card as soon as she can sign her name on it
* visit the library at least weekly
* let her have free run of the books in the library
Do this, and you are extremely likely to have a well-educated child no matter
what doesn't happen at her school.
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